Xiaomi announces Mi 5X with the latest MIUI 9

After some teasing, Xiaomi has formally announced its latest smartphone that’ll surely be another hit, not only to the Chinese market, but to anyone who wants the best package without the hefty price tag.

This is the Xiaomi Mi 5X.

We already have the Mi 5 from last year, but this new Mi 5X is more than just a rehash or a cheaper variant of Xiaomi’s former flagship. First, it’s got a new metal unibody design that looks a lot like the iPhone 7 Plus (or the OPPO R11 and the OnePlus 5 — depends on who you’re asking). But instead of having the Apple logo, you get a more functional fingerprint reader in its place.

The Mi 5X sports a 5.5-inch 1080p display fitted into its body. Xiaomi promotes the phone’s rounded edge corners which make the phone easier to hold, plus anti-fingerprint coating to avoid unsightly smudges.

In addition, it sports dual-rear cameras. Both are 12-megapixel shooters with the one having a telephoto lens. Like with other dual-camera phones, the Mi 5X has a portrait mode to achieve artificial bokeh for your pictures. Here are some official samples from Xiaomi’s forum:

More importantly, the Mi 5X is the first phone to run the latest version of Xiaomi’s custom interface, MIUI 9, which is based on Android Nougat — that’s a big deal for a phone that isn’t considered a flagship. For now, MIUI 9 is only available in Chinese, but Xiaomi promises a global version soon.

Specs-wise, the phone is powered by a midrange Snapdragon 625 processor, and it comes with 4GB of memory and 64GB of internal storage. Battery capacity is at 3080mAh which could easily last a whole day of moderate usage.

The Mi 5X is priced at CNY 1,499 (US$ 222) for its sole variant. Xiaomi usually has a number of memory and storage configurations, but that’s not the case for the Mi 5X, making it a simple choice for those looking for a fresh smartphone.

LG’s next flagship smartphone has its launch postponed until June

LG is already making it known that they won’t have a brand-new flagship smartphone to show during Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain next week. That means there won’t be a successor a year after the current flagship G6 launched, which was during last year’s MWC. This brings us to the question: How much longer do we have to wait?

According to VentureBeat‘s source, LG’s upcoming premium handset — codenamed “Judy” — is set to release in June, several months after the February launch date of the G6 in 2017. With the amount of time put into it, the new design is primed to be all new.

This aligns with reports that the South Korean company won’t call its next major release the G7, although it’ll come with the tall 18:9 screen ratio which the G6 started. The same source claims that the successor will be larger and more powerful than the G6.

Judy is expected to have a new 6.1-inch panel that’s brighter and consumes less power than a traditional IPS LCD. And unlike its predecessor, the new flagship is guaranteed to have the latest Snapdragon 845 processor, as well as dual rear cameras, IP68-rated water and dust resistance, stereo speakers, and enough artificial intelligence to power the cameras and virtual assistant.

With the later launch date and complete set of features, Judy’s existence might also change LG’s plans for a follow-up to the V30. Only time — and an official word from LG execs — would bring truth to these rumors.

Amazon finally launches the Echo in India

Four months is worth the wait. Finally, Amazon has released the Echo for all markets in India.

Previously, the Alexa-powered speaker lineup was available on an invite-only basis for Indian customers. With the new launch, the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Plus are now available online through Amazon.in and through 350 retailers across India.

In their defense, Amazon used the four-month delay to optimize the devices for Indian consumers. Most notably, the devices now come with an English (India) mode. The new language option eases the interface between Indian voices and Alexa. As a result, the Indian model also comes with a more familiar Indian voice.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that the new devices are compatible with Hindi.

In terms of features, the new model comes with Alexa to Alexa voice calling. It also comes with a Drop-in feature, which allows Alexa to call family members using other Echo devices in the house.

The Echo is Amazon’s main driver for their virtual assistant Alexa. The voice-activated speaker comes in assorted flavors like the beefier Echo Plus or the smaller Echo Dot.

Sadly, the Amazon Echo’s Indian release comes with a pricier tag than its American release. The regular Echo retails for INR 9,999. The smaller Echo Dot retails for INR 4,499. Finally, the bigger Echo Plus comes at INR 14,999.

Official Samsung Galaxy S9 cases are now available including a Hyperknit cover

We’re just a week away from the official announcement of the Galaxy S9 from Samsung, but its official cases just can’t wait anymore.

With all the leaks we’ve seen and read about all over the internet, we already know everything about the physical looks of the Galaxy S9. It’s supposedly not much different compared to its predecessor, aside from the fingerprint reader placement at back. With probably the same fragile glass body, how do we protect it? Here’s a preview of the official cases from Samsung.

Fabric is the new thing in tech nowadays. If the luxurious Alcantara cases aren’t enough, the Galaxy S9 will also have Hyperknit covers in red or gray. There’s another cloth case with a flap on the front and shows time when closed.

The usual high-quality silicone cases will also be available and they’ll come in pink, black, and gray. The coverage of the silicone cases is the same as the Hyperknit’s sans the sporty-looking fabric cover.

The staple Clear View Stand cases will be on sale as usual. So far, there are three confirmed colors: gold, purple, and blue.

The source link below directs to the listing of MobileFun along with the corresponding prices of these and others like the new Alcantara cases but they don’t have available images as of writing.